SMOKING – IS THE JOY OF SMOKING WORTH THE RISKS?

Smoking is bad for your health. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. It is also responsible for many other cancers and health problems. These include lung disease, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke and cataracts. Women who smoke have a greater chance of certain pregnancy problems or having a baby die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Your smoke is also bad for other people - they breathe in your smoke second hand and can get many of the same problems as smokers do.

THE BENEFITS OF QUITTING SMOKING

Within 12 hours after you have your last cigarette, your body will begin to heal itself. The levels of carbon monoxide and nicotine in your system will decline rapidly, and your heart and lungs will begin to repair the damage caused by cigarette smoke. As your body begins to repair itself, instead of feeling better right away, you may feel worse for a while. It's important to understand that healing is a process that begins immediately, but it continues over time. These "withdrawal pangs" are really symptoms of the recovery process.
Immediately after quitting, many ex-smokers experience "symptoms of recovery" such as temporary weight gain caused by fluid retention, irregularity, and dry, sore gums or tongue. You may feel edgy, hungry, more tired, and more short-tempered than usual and have trouble sleeping and notice that you are coughing a lot. These symptoms are the result of your body clearing itself of nicotine, a powerful addictive chemical. Most nicotine is gone from the body in 2-3 days.

HOW TO QUIT?

Set a quit date. Not even a single puff after the quit date. Sign a contract.

Tell friends, family, co-workers of plans to quit.

Anticipate challenges to planned quit attempt. Find new habits.

Remove tobacco from your environment. Reward yourself.

DEALING WITH TRIGGERS AND TEMPTATIONS?

Delay the urge to smoke after a meal etc.

Escape smoking settings, gimmicks, etc.

Avoid smoking settings

Distract

RELAPSE

Due to addictive nature of nicotine, relapse is common. Identify the factors that lead to the relapse and try to quit again. Some smokers succeed after making several attempts. Past failure does not prevent future success. The length of prior abstinence is related to quitting success.

So, remember:

If at once you don't succeed, try and try again. You might just make it.